Huddersfield Town 2 Blackpool 2: The key Town quality which will come into its own at the business end of 2025-26

The Accu Stadium was rocking on Saturday, as it has done during Liam Manning’s lively tenure so far. Although it took its time on this occasion and it was Town who were shaken at half-time. Blackpool rocked.

The 1980s were an up-and-down decade for Huddersfield and this was a rollercoaster afternoon for sure. There were some jeers at half-time and then raucous applause at the end.

Four games into the Manning era and it’s been a case of strap yourself in. Two consequential late goals, two victories against the odds, sending-offs, fightbacks, thrills and spills and plenty of audience participation.

Crucially, Town have been on the right end of things and fortune has certainly favoured Manning. He looks to be a good general and maybe he is a lucky one as well, to paraphrase Napoleon.

So far, the main takeaway regarding Town under him is that his players are unquestionably fighting for each other and displaying grit.

He is finding out more nuanced stuff as he goes along. As exercises go for head coaches, Manning probably learnt more about his players on Saturday than he did on his three previous matchdays.

For an hour, his side were pretty poor, passive and unimaginative, albeit against an Ashley Fletcher-inspired Blackpool side who made a mockery of their travails on the road.

Trailing 2-0 at the break, Huddersfield huffed and puffed, before the 64th-minute introduction of Lasse Sorensen and Mickel Miller - Manning’s second double change in less than 10 minutes - really changed things. It was his final substitute in Cam Ashia who got the bouquets late on.

Even though Town currently have some availability issues, their strength remains their squad strength. They possessed bench options who could change things on Saturday and so it proved.

Manning will soon have another in Ryan Hardie and the cards at his disposal should really come into their own at the business end of the season.

He can mix it up tactically too. Miller, a left-sided player, made an impact cutting in from the right. But as the Town chief rightly said, the biggest narrative shift was the sight of players committing themselves further forward and being braver.

That purpose was lacking in the first half. At the back, Town hardly covered themselves in glory either.

Their goals against tally of 42 is the worst in the top half. Injuries haven’t helped and Joe Low was notable by his absence on Saturday.

He’s not going to be around for a bit yet. More encouraging news arrives in the fact that Jack Whatmough is back training.

Early on, it was Blackpool who looked dodgy, defensively. Bali Mumba, at full-stretch, fired wide with the goal at his mercy from Dion Charles’ cross. Earlier, the striker wriggled clear and hit the outside of the post.

That was as good as it got in the first half. At the other end, it was lamentable.

Leighton Clarkson’s deep corner on the left found James Husband on the far side. Totally unmarked, he lobbed the ball back towards goal and found Clarkson, untracked after coming inside and he supplied Fletcher, whose low finish beat Lee Nicholls.

It got worse. Fletcher started the move which ended with the unmarked Karoy Anderson - one of three Blackpool debutants - heading home following Reuell Walters’ centre.

Pool should have added a third on the strike of half-time from Michael Ihiekwe as Town again made a horlicks of it from a Clarkson corner.

Initially, the hosts weren't convincing on the resumption. Substitutes would eventually change it, but not before a huge moment in the context of the game when Nicholls made a brilliant one-handed parry to keep out Fletcher’s volley.

Town then made it interesting. Miller showed great tenacity on the right to supply Sorensen and his cross was headed home majestically by Marcus Harness.

With the visitors looking vulnerable, the hosts seized their chance and Ashia again displayed his credentials as an impact sub, heading home clinically after being picked out by Mumba with Miller involved again.

Huddersfield Town: Nicholls; Balker, Wallace, Feeney (Miller 64); Gooch (Sorensen 64), Ledson. McGuane (Ashia 85), Mumba; Harness, Humphreys (Kasumu 56); Charles (Wales 57). Substitutes unused: Alnwick, Alves.

Blackpool: Peacock-Farrell; Casey, Ihiekwe, Husband; Walters, Brown, Clarkson (Finnigan 80), Hamilton (Ashworth 90); Anderson; Fletcher (Ennis 80), Obafemi (Bloxham 72). Substitutes unused: Ravizzoli, Bowler, Richardson.

Referee: R Joyce (Teesside).